During surgery or operations in the area of the spine, such as operations involving attaching pedical screws to individual vertebrae and fixing rods between pedical screws on adjacent vertebrae, the entire area of the spine to be operated on is exposed. First, the pedical screws are inserted into the exposed vertebrae, then each rod is placed between two pedical screws on adjacent vertebrae and connected to them using screws. The open tissue is then closed over the inserted pedical screws and the rods connected to them again. Accordingly, such surgery in the area of the spine requires the tissue to be opened in a relatively large area.
A pedical screw including a device arranged on it for fixing a rod is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,371,957 B1, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Opening a relatively large area of tissue, however, causes problems including an increased risk of infection or complications as the corresponding area heals. Furthermore, scars may be present after such surgery, which is undesirable for aesthetic reasons.